American Bred Episode 6: Time Taken for Granite
by American Companion
Summary: Katie's finally done it: TARDIS's most important part is broken, stranding the Doctor and her unground. Fortunatly, TARDIS can be repaired. Unfortunatly, the parts are on the other side of a horde of the most dangerous enemies the Doctor has ever faced.
1. Chapter 1

"Look, I told you that it wouldn't work! You can't just change physics!...Well, life isn't like _Star Trek_… It doesn't matter if it's hot down where you're at, I can't get you out yet and neither can you, so just stop trying. You could have avoided this entire situation if you'd just listened to me the first time and not wandered off…No! I'm having enough problems up top trying to convince the higher authorities to set you free to send you a care package!...Of course the food is bad! They don't call your location 'The Seventh Circle' for nothing!"

The Doctor felt eyes on him as he argued with Kathryn over a CeaXhell. Looking up, he noticed the people around him, as well as his surroundings. He had unconsciously wandered into a grave yard and had stopped in front of a headstone. In Salem, Mass. In 1692. Right in the middle of the famous Witch Trials.

"Ah, Kathryn, I'm going to have to get back to you on this…Yes, we can save the others too…A cat? What do you want a cat for? A cat and a vial of nitroglycerine…You're going to tie the nitroglycerine to the cat and see if you can use it to blow your way out. No. I'm done listening to this. Besides, security down below is far too tight, you'd never get a package like that past the gates… I don't care if your warden calls himself a devil!"

The Doctor realized the natives were staring at him with a mix of horror and curiosity. He probably looked like either a madman or a witch. He hoped it was the first.

"I really do have to leave you now. I'll call back when I have news… Yes, I'll check on Floyd. As long as he doesn't try eating me again...Yes, I know where you keep the Frillan bone meal, but it didn't work last time…Oh, I have to take a rat with me too? Live or dead?...Cooked! What do you do, baste it in butter, maybe a little thyme thrown in?...No, you grill it and he's allergic to thyme. Of course…What was that?...You give Hilda the tail and Roderick gets the head. What does Bartholomew get?... Nothing because he's a vegetarian. Kathryn, I am never taking care of your plants again. And this is the very last time I spring you from prison."

He pressed the CeaXhell off and looked around at the locals. If he hadn't been him, the situation would have been almost comical. He smiled, hopefully in a reassuring way, and tried to explain. "Friend of mine. Just one call allowed, you know. Really, happens all the time. Must be the fifth time I've had to do this. Ah, any of you know the way to the chapel?"

* * *

><p>Katie and the Doctor slammed the TARDIS door behind them, locking it firmly before dashing to the console. The Doctor entered in the coordinates for the Hourglass Nebula as locals began rocking TARDIS back and forth, trying to tip her. Cries for torches reached the Doctor's ears as Katie flipped the switch that made TARDIS dematerialize. The sounds of the riot dissipated and were replaced by the familiar, comforting <em>vworp, vworp, vworp<em> of TARDIS's engines.

Katie leaned backwards on the console. She was panting for breath, but was grinning from ear to ear.

"Now that," Katie said, pointing at the Doctor "is what I call a rescue. You must have sent every cow in the county through those gates. It'll take them forever to sort out whose is whose."

As much as the Doctor felt he should lecture Katie, he found he couldn't. He leaned beside her on the console. "How did you end up accused of witchcraft in the first place?"

"I saw some kid drowning in a watering hole, so I jumped in to save him. He'd gone under already, so his lungs were full of water when I pulled him out. Had to force the water out and then I had to jumpstart his heart with my Taser. I was able to resuscitate him, but unfortunately his two siblings had witnessed the whole thing."

"Do you do this intentionally?"

Katie sniffed and tilted her head. "Which part? Saving others, getting in trouble, being thrown in prison for I think the sixth time, or forcing us to make a quick get away?"

"Yes."

Katie's grin became a half-smile. "Just the part about saving people and getting into trouble. Well, I don't get in trouble on purpose. That part just seems to always happen."

The Doctor studied Katie for a moment. She looked right back at him, almost seeming to welcome the scrutiny. "I wonder if it's just bad timing on your part or you in general."

"I think it's you. You've rubbed off on me, so now we cause havoc where ever we go." She nudged him with her elbow. "Come on now, admit it, you have just as much fun at this as I do."

The Doctor smiled. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't." He paused. "A cat with nitroglycerine?"

Katie dipped her head, smiling. "Well, that might have been a little over the top, but I figured it would work. Bad choice of animals though. They were already certain I was talking to spirits, and asking for a cat didn't help my case."

"I was in a cemetery when you called."

Katie chuckled. "Oh, that must have been interesting." She smiled at him. "So, where to next?"

"Non-stop with you, isn't it?"

"You taught me to be like that."

"So I did, and I'm about to teach you something else. It's time for your next flying lesson. Well, technically your next parking lesson. You're still atrocious at it."

Katie gave him a mock glare. "Just because I don't run the risk of turning anyone I might land on into so many particles…"

"I've told you to use the proximity meter."

"She keeps moving it and you know that."

"She moves everything around. It's still in the same section of the console as always, you just have to learn to find it."

Katie looked vaguely puzzled. "Is that why you constantly run around when you pilot?"

"Yes. Well, that and TARDIS are usually designed for six pilots."

"Meh, makes sense. So, where next?"

The Doctor grinned. "We're going down under."

"Australia?"

"No, underground."

The Doctor started dashing about, setting things up. "Now, not every landing has to be outside. Landing inside rooms or underground is also possible. It's just a harder landing procedure."

"Because…"

"Because it's possible to rematerialize inside the wall or rock, and you can damage the ship if you don't go through the solid matter correctly."

"Ah."

* * *

><p><em>Vwirrrp, vviiiirrrk, vrrrrunk.<em>

"I'm sorry girl! We're working on it!"

"Kathryn, I am never letting you touch her console again when this is over!"

Katie and the Doctor were having problems. Specifically, Katie was having her traditional trouble with landing. TARDIS was making a screeching noise, as though part of her outer hull was being sheared off as they forced their way through the rock.

With one last shattering noise, TARDIS stopped with a thud, throwing Katie and the Doctor to the ground. They were up again in a flash, checking dials and running systems checks.

"Life support good!"

"Outer hull intact!"

"Dimensional difference holding in the green zone!"

"Zip drive accessible!"

"8-track\cassette player undamaged!"

"Plasma cooling system is hot, but within normal limits!"

"Huon particles stable!"

"Vortex manipulator broken!"

"What!"

Katie looked at the Doctor's horrified face. She looked back at the flashing screen and swallowed hard. "Yeah. Broken."

The Doctor looked extremely close to truly losing his temper for a moment. Then he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. In a scarily calm voice, he asked, "How badly is it damaged.

Katie looked at the reading on the screen. "It has to be replaced."

"Replaced. No fixing it?"

"No."

"Do you mean to say that you destroyed the one thing that actually makes the TARIDS a time machine?"

"Yes."

"The one thing that I do not have in stock?"

"Yes."

"A piece that takes specialized parts to recreate?"

"Yes."

The Doctor was silent. After a few moments, his usual good humor and patience seemed to start returning. "Well then, we'll have to find those parts. We're near Boron City, an underground mining town that creates the things we will need. I want you to find which way the main city is while I check the damage. Get back as soon as possible, because we are stuck here until we get those parts."

"Got it."

The Doctor tossed her a case, which she caught mid-air. "My CeaXhell was damaged. Use the head set to keep in touch."

"Will do." Katie walked to the door, grabbing her messenger bag on the way. She paused with her hand on the door handle.

"Doctor…"

He poked his head out from under the floor. "Yes?"

"Sorry about the mess."

She walked out without waiting for an answer.

* * *

><p>Katie found herself in a stone tunnel that made a sharp turn up ahead. Opening the case, she removed a head set with a microphone on it, like they used on air planes. Putting it on, she tapped the microphone.<p>

"Testing, testing, 8 13 21."

"You're coming through."

"Check that."

Katie and the Doctor didn't exchange any more words. Katie started jogging along, her steps echoing slightly in the empty tunnel. Once she turned the corner, she came to an abrupt stop.

"Oh. You didn't say Boronians made garden statues as well."

The Doctor's voice was puzzled. "They don't."

"Then someone's got one heck of a hobby. This entire tunnel is filled with angel statues, about as tall as you. They all look like they're crying."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

"Kathryn, don't blink. Whatever you do, don't blink, don't look away from the statues. I'm on my way."

Katie froze, following the Doctor's orders. He had sounded…scared. Honestly scared. But of what? They were just statues.

She felt the Doctor walk up behind her. He inhaled sharply. "There's so many of them. Kathryn, I want you to slowly walk backwards. Don't blink, and don't turn your back on them."

"Doctor, what—"

"MOVE."

Katie did as the Doctor asked, starting to get scared. It was torture walking back to TARDIS. The Doctor fumbled for the handle, opening the doors and stepping inside. He carefully guided Katie into TARDIS, then slammed the door behind her, rapidly locking it, then sonicing the lock. He ran straight to the view screen, turning it on. His face paled.

Katie hurriedly joined him. She gasped. "How did they get outside TARDIS?"

"They aren't statues," the Doctor said, his voice hollow. "They're a race called the Weeping Angels. They feed off potential energy. One touch and they send you back in time, let you live to death, and then eat all the days you could have had. They're incredibly fast. If you look away, if you even blink, they'll get you."

"But they're just stone."

"That the hellish brilliance of it. It's the perfect defense. Whenever someone's looking at them, they turn to stone, and you can't kill stone. But it also means they can't look at each other. Loneliest creatures in the universe."

Katie looked at the screen with a new expression of compassion. "Lonely Assassins." She sighed. "But we still have to get those parts. Is there any way we can move just a little ways to find the pieces somewhere else?"

"No. The manipulator is completely fried. We're stuck unless we find a way past the Angels."

Katie clicked her teeth together, thinking. She glanced up at the Doctor and froze, her mouth wide open. She broke into a grin and pulled his goggles off his head.

"It's so stupid that it'll work! Doctor, do you have another pair of these?"

"Yes…"

"Good, go get them, and any mirrors you might have. Bring them to your workshop. We have so much to do."

* * *

><p>An hour later, the Doctor and Katie were staring dubiously at each other.<p>

"It's a little confusing."

"I know. I can hardly tell which way I'm going. But if they petrify whenever something looks at them, then that will include their own reflection."

"It makes sense in theory."

Katie and the Doctor had worked together to create one of the most bizarre outfits either of them had ever worn. Using every mirror they could find, they had used bits of wire to create side mirrors on the goggles. They had also turned four large mirrors into sandwich board style outfits, bearing the weight on their shoulders so that they had a mirror on their front and back, with extra ones on their sides. It limited movement some, and was rather heavy, but they didn't have much choice.

"I feel like a fat disco ball," Katie said.

"It was your idea."

"Doesn't help my personal pride."

"Ready to test this?" the Doctor asked.

"No."

"Same here. Let's go."

Katie volunteered to go first. Actually, she insisted, saying that if it didn't work and the angels vanished her away to somewhere, the Doctor still had a chance to fix TARDIS and find her.

Katie cautiously opened the door, keeping her eyes wide open so the angels couldn't get into TARDIS. They still looked like statues. Some were staring at her. Others were covering their faces. Most were at a point in between. Katie closed the door behind her, still not taking her eyes off the angels.

Once the door was closed, Katie nodded, steadying her nerves. Knowing the Doctor could hear her through the door, she spoke out loud.

"So far so good. I'm going to count down from four, and on zero I'll close my eyes for two seconds. If I disappear, you come find me."

Katie took another deep breath. "Okay. Four, three, two, one…zero."

She closed her eyes and gasped. The angles were…heavenly.

Katie could see energy. Light, heat, sound, mental. They were all just colors to her when her eyes were closed. She thought she had seen everything energy could be. Now she learned differently.

The angels were moving with a slowness that would almost be excruciating, were it not for the fact they did it so gracefully. Sparks of every energy type fell off them in showers, energy dying to be released in a burst of speed, instead kept near the creatures in a glowing haze. Around them swirled a thick mist of silver and purple, the colors intertwining until Katie was nearly dizzy at the sight of it. It was gorgeous.

One near her started to lower its hand from its eyes in a liquid movement, turning it like a beckoning hand towards Katie. Soon, every other angel did the same, the glorious creatures calling for her to join them. Her arms ached to reach out to them.

Katie finally remembered to open her eyes. She did so, and became depressed at the lack of color in the tunnel. Glancing at the angel near her, she saw it hadn't moved in the slightest. None of them had. She sighed.

"Well, I'm still here. I think you can join me."

The door instantly opened and the Doctor stepped out, worry on his face.

"What happened?" he demanded. "You haven't said anything for five minutes."

Katie was perplexed. "It can't have been that long."

"It was. I thought that they'd taken you."

The worry and relief in his face was plain to see, but she shrugged in response. Katie stared with longing at the angels again. The sight had been incredibly captivating. She wanted to go back to it. She wanted to accept the invitation, and sway with the angles in the silver mist.

Katie jumped at the Doctor's fingers snapping in front of her face. She saw the concern in his face.

"Kathryn, are you alright?"

"Of course I am. I'm always alright. Now come on. We have to find that city and get out of here. That is, if the angels didn't finish them all off."

* * *

><p>The Doctor watched Katie as they carefully walked through the hordes of angels. He wished to go faster, but the mirrors, though affective, were of little help in the tricky maneuvers required to move around the angels. It didn't help his concern for Kathryn either.<p>

Something was wrong. He wasn't sure what it was, but something had affected her thinking. Despite his warnings, she looked to have no real fear of the angels. And then there was the absence of conversation. It wasn't as though they talked all the time. There were stretches were neither friend said a thing to each other for days. Granted, those events usually meant Katie was slowly losing her sanity from inactivity, but the periods were still there.

But on walks she was constantly talking, asking questions about where they had landed, what they were seeing, sometimes who they were fighting or a math and/or science and/or linguistics problem she had been having. However, now she was silent, and her eyes, when he could see them, had a strange, faraway longing look, as though she wanted to go somewhere.

That was another thing that made the Doctor worried about his friend. There was so much about her design he couldn't begin to guess at, so much about her clone roots that neither of them knew. What if this was the onset of a new stage she was entering? If so, did it bode well or not?

"Ha ha! A sign from above!"

The Doctor paused, his thoughts interrupted. "What?"

Katie pointed up, her cloudy look missing for the moment. The Doctor's followed her direction and saw the stone sign hanging from the tunnel ceiling, telling the two travelers that the city was only a quarter mile away.

"You know, ordinarily, I'd be there in a minute and a half, but since I'm wearing enough mirrors to outfit a Hollywood dressing room, it'll take a tad longer."

The Doctor smiled lightly, some of his worry dissipating. That sounded more like Kathryn.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

It took seven minutes to reach a final rise to the underground city. Before they had quite topped it, the Doctor said,

"I'm now certain the angels have taken everyone."

Katie said nothing for a few moments. Then she gave a little start and turned to him. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"The angels ate everyone in the city. They must have, because this road should be filled with people, and we should be hearing city sounds everywhere."

"Maybe it's just night time for them."

The Doctor hid his worry over her emotionless, bored tone with a slightly sarcastic comment. "Have you ever been in a city that was quiet at night?"

"Dunno. Haven't really been in any cities. Lived in the country mostly, and whenever I was in Texas it was nothing but open land." She sighed quietly. "Seems as though the angels have cleared out though."

"You sound disappointed."

She glanced at him. "Why would I be disappointed? It's just an observation. Now we can move more freely. Come on, we have to find those parts. What store would they be in?"

"Hard to say," the Doctor answered, lying through his teeth. "I'll know when I see it."

"Oh, well that's a great help," Katie said, a small flash of her usual sarcasm showing through. "You ought to lead. I do not wish to take a turn I needn't take."

"You must be upset," he said, brushing past her. "You're using your most formal mode of speech."

"Stop."

The Doctor paused. Katie circled around him, her goggles off and in her hand. She had her eyes closed as she reached out with her free hand and made a motion as though wiping something off his coat, but she didn't touch him. She brought her hand up close to her face, rubbing her fingers together.

"What is this?" Katie jerked her head back, flipping her hand over as though looking for something. Turning her face towards him again, she continued circling, making the same motion at his shoulder.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't know, but you are simply covered in it." She opened her eyes again. "It has to be some kind of energy. I can't see it if my eyes are open."

"Is it on you as well?"

"No." She swiped again. "It isn't even on you. It's coming _out_ of you." Katie made a face and danced awkwardly backwards, shaking her hand furiously. "Oh gross, is this some kind of Time Lord sweat?"

The Doctor looked at Katie indignantly. "No, it isn't. What are you looking at?"

"There's this odd silver stuff all over you. It acts like mud; really watery slimly mud, but feels the way you'd imagine mercury to feel. Sort of solid and liquidic at the same time. It has to be energy, because it soaks right into my skin." She scrapped her hand at the air half a centimeter from his back and stared at her hand, presumably watching it run down her arm. "Reminds me of...eh, doesn't matter." She looked back at the Doctor and smiled. For some reason, the smile made him uneasy.

"Well, we'll figure it out at some point. Lead on, those parts won't come to us."

* * *

><p>The city was a sight. Completely chiseled out of the surrounding gray rock, it was a little depressing, but definitely solid. The buildings were rather plain, but the Doctor figured that miners wouldn't be too worried about exterior design. Still, some decoration would have been nice.<p>

He was watching out for several places, among them a store that would sell wiring, colored glass, a particle stabilizer, and sun-dry other items that he could easily fashion into a vortex manipulator.

"Why don't you just tell me what we're looking for? We'd find it twice as fast."

"Do you know what a self-insulating compartmentalized giptheorium thermos looks like?"

"Pardon?"

"Precisely."

The Doctor gave a small smile and pointed at a building up ahead. "There's our first stop. Basic hardware. Well, as basic as an underground mining city ever gets."

A small bell over the door rung as they stepped inside the store. Dust was beginning to layer up over what was otherwise a tidy store. It still carried the faint oily smell that one might expect, but it was well kept.

"Right," the Doctor said, nodding appreciatively. "I need you to find me some colored glass. I don't know if they'd sell it here, but it doesn't hurt to look. I'll be in wiring if you need me. Oh, and if you happen to come across any five-hundred watt bulbs, hold onto it."

He stepped forward and disappeared among the isles, his step quick and determined.

Katie's was less sure. She browed the shelves aimlessly, not really looking at anything as she wandered in a dreamlike state. Her mind was still back with the angels.

She understood that the Doctor called them dangerous, and she supposed that they were frightening, in a way. But they were so lonely! They couldn't ever look at each other, ever. If they did, they would die, frozen forever and ever. Wasn't that a sad thing? The Doctor always felt sad for everything else. Why not them?

Maybe they had done something to him long ago. Maybe the pretty angels were the ones that had made him so sad and angry. He was always sad and usually very angry too, though he never showed it. It was always hidden. Mostly always. Sometimes he was happy.

The angels. They had spoken to her, the energy that went into them and out of them and through them and around them and from them, shaping words somehow. Emotions, pictures of a life of travel and speed, a life like the one she had now, but better. Better because she would never have to hurt anybody, and no one could ever hurt her. She could be with people that were like her, going forever and ever. Wouldn't that just be a wonderful life, to be like those lovely creatures?

Katie closed her eyes, trying to recall to memory the sight of the angels. Instead, she saw a whole lot of silver, with splashes of purple mixed in.

_help_

The word was so faint Katie thought she had imagined it.

_help_

The purple splashes were starting to become a line. It pulsed with the quiet word, like it was a glowing thread twisting through the silver wind.

Momentarily distracted from her previous musings, Katie started walking in the direction the pulse was coming from, weaving among vast collections of screws and light fixtures and mats and piping and chains and cans. The purple pulse went through a wall, where Katie could not follow.

Katie opened her eyes, the dull color of the stone making her depressed again. She was in some kind of back office. There were ledgers on shelves, boxes on the floor, and sketches on the wall. Open on the desk was a book. It seemed to be lists of shipments. Katie glanced through it, thinking that she could save time by finding out if they even sold glass here.

They lists went on for several pages, about three weeks between each delivery, each delivery proceeded by a list of what was ordered. Notes on whether or not something had been brought, the condition it was delivered in, and novelties that hadn't been ordered yet were still purchased were each in their own columns. Neat and orderly, just like the store.

An entry in the novelties section for the last shipment caught her eye.

**Weeping Angel Statue: Stone, 5 feet 6 inches tall**

"Only one? Then how did they all get here?"

Opening drawers in the desk, Katie searched until she found a small leather book. She thumbed through it with a pleased smile growing across her features.

"Journal. Same writing as the ledger. Last entries might say where they all came from."

Skimming the writing, she found a paragraph from the day the statue arrived.

_Didn't order it, but a stone angel came with the last shipment. Looked interesting, good detail, so I bought it. Someone might buy it._

A few entries later, another paragraph.

_I keep going back to the statue. It's extremely captivating somehow. My hire-on, Roald, spends even more time looking at it then I do._

_I would swear it moves when my back is turned. When I came in this morning, it had shifted ten feet to the right, next to the computer system. Odd._

The next entry was really interesting.

_Another statue showed up by the other one. Crazy! I only purchased one. And I can't stop drawing pictures of them. I stuck them around my office. I feel as though they're moving when my back is turned._

There was nothing else written after that. Katie closed the book.

"Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice said."

Stepping back from the desk, Katie's foot bumped something. She heard a thin, crackly tinkle. Looking down, she saw a box full of broken glass, in all sorts of colors. It appeared as though it was pieces of a broken stain glass window.

"Woo hoo! Luck strikes again!"

Katie crouched down and carefully picked up a rather large shard.

"Pretty jagged. Meh, the Doctor's pretty smart. He'll figure out how best to use it."

Suddenly, Katie felt as though she was being watched. But she didn't feel scared. The voices of the angels stirred in her head again.

She stood slowly, lifting her head at the same speed. Her hand tightened around the glass shard. Purple blood started to drip onto the floor, but she ignored it.

The angels were singing.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

"Kathryn, I found the light bulb, so you don't need to worry about it. Were you able to locate any glass?"

There was no answer.

"Kathryn?"

The Doctor sighed in exasperation and started to look through the store isles, searching for his friend. Of all the people he had brought with him, she had the very worst habit for wandering off.

"I might need a leash for them. It would certainly help me keep track. Kathryn!"

He paused, a strange smell reaching him, one that clung to the back of his throat. A sticky, salty smell. Inhaling deeply, he realized it was the odor of blood.

"Kathryn!" the Doctor called again, picking up the pace. He caught sight of a small office and looked in. The Doctor jerked back, the sight startling him.

Kathryn was standing in the middle of the room, transfixed as it seemed by the multiple drawings of Weeping Angels pinned to the wall. A pool of purple blood was on the floor next to her, constantly fed by the cut on her hand.

The Doctor hurriedly set his finds down, stepping next to Kathryn where her peripheral vision should have seen him. Her eyes were closed, her face nearly expressionless. Nearly.

"Kathryn," he said gently, slowly walking in front of her. "Kathryn, look at me."

Katie could hardly hear the vaguely familiar voice. The singing of the angels in the pictures filled her. The noise the person made was an unwanted distraction, someone calling for her to come out of her warm safety.

Someone stepped into her vision, the energy they gave off blocking the sparks flying from the sketches. The singing lessoned and stopped. Katie opened her eyes, about to tell the Doctor to move. Instead she gasped and let go of the glass. It shattered at her feet as she clutched her wrist, staring at the cut that was slowly healing.

"Nearly went through your hand," the Doctor mused, looking at it.

"It'll be fine. It's already healing."

"Kathryn, what happened?"

She glanced up at him, and then away. "I was looking for the glass, and I found a journal that says how the angels got here. At least the first one. Hitched a ride with a delivery truck." Katie grimaced as she tried to move her hand, the cut still not healed. "Damn that hurts."

The Doctor didn't comment on her choice of words. Something was definitely wrong with Katie, and he had to find out what it was.

"Kathryn, what were you looking at?"

She hesitated before answering. "A…mental trail. It goes through the wall. I was trying to figure out where it came from."

"By slicing your hand in half?"

"Just drop it, Doc," Katie said, her tone annoyed. "I found the glass, you found the light bulbs and wire. Problem solved. Let's just go find the next piece of junk that you need."

The Doctor grabbed her shoulders, bending down so that his eyes were on a level with her. There was a level of defiance in her eyes that he had never seen before. Her jaw was set, sending a clear message.

"Kathryn, something is very wrong, but I can't do anything until you tell me what happened." He searched her eye, as though trying to read the answer there. "What did you really see?"

Katie brushed it off like a petulant teenager. "Nothing happened, Doctor. Maybe I'm tired or something."

"You don't get tired."

"How would you know? You aren't me." She flung her arms outward, shaking off his grasp. Bending down sharply, she picked up the box of glass shards. "Come on. We still have to get the rest of whatever it is you need."

She turned and walked out, leaving the Doctor staring after her. As he did so, he noticed something.

Katie had taken off her mirrors.

* * *

><p>Katie trailed behind the Doctor, her thoughts in a muddle. She didn't lash out at him, not like that. He had every reason to be worried about her. Cutting her hand in two, snapping, being stupid enough to take off the mirrors, not asking questions. Even in her own mind, she wasn't questioning anything. She always wondered and poked and prodded and searched and asked. It was part of her nature.<p>

Her nature. Was that what was wrong? Was her nature changing? Was some buried programing coming into play, a hidden code written into her brain finally unlocking? Was she going to become someone new? What was the silver mist? Was it blocking her somehow, preventing her energy view from its usual third person view? What was happening to her?

Katie opened her mouth, about to tell the Doctor that she was worried, what she had seen. An image of the lead angel flashed across her mind, interrupting the words.

It was alright. Just teenage growth, that was all. Nothing to worry over.

Katie kept walking, ignoring the angel in the alleyway.

* * *

><p>After several more stops, during which possibly twenty words were said between the Doctor and Katie, they came across a small shop with mirrors of all shapes and sizes attached to every window. A sign above the door marked it as a jewelry shop.<p>

"Last stop," the Doctor said.

"Good. What do you need?"

"Gold, tin, and copper. Pure as you can get it."

Katie closed her eyes for a moment, looking for the purple thread. The Doctor had been following it unknowingly, even as it pulsed with same word, getting louder as they went along. She hadn't said anything about that either. For some reason, it didn't bother her.

Setting everything else down outside the door, Katie turned the handle and stepped inside. Everything was dark, as she had expected. She pulled a flashlight out of her bag, casting the beam about. The gems in the display cases winked at her.

_Crack!_

Katie landed heavily on the ground, her flashlight spinning away as something split over her skull and the door slammed shut. Rolling away and then scrambling to her feet, she spun and crouched to face her attacker.

Something landed heavily on her back as a hard object started hitting her ankles. Hopping about, Katie grabbed the arms locked about her neck. The energy spark from her assailant immediately traveled into her, and the grasp loosened. Bounding away from the ankle-whacker, Katie scooped up her flashlight as she leapt on top of a glass display case. It held as she crouched and flashed her light at her adversaries.

"Three kids?"

The Doctor burst through the door, the worry on his face hidden but evident. "Kathryn!"

He caught sight of the boy and two girls. The boy, who looked to be seventeen, was standing with a splintered cricket-bat held in his hands, a fearsome expression on his face. He was standing protectively in front of two girls, the older looking unhealthily pale.

"What are you still doing here? The angels should have gotten you."

The boy's jaw clenched at the words. "Are you the ones who unleashed those monsters on us?"

"Hoy! We aren't the ones beating up strangers with bats!"

The bat swung about, now pointed threateningly at Katie. "You broke in!"

"You still have the "Open" sign up," the Doctor said. The boy blinked, lowering his bat.

"I guess it is. I didn't think about it."

"Maybe you should next time," Katie said, rubbing the bump on her head that was still trying to heal. "You practically cracked my skull open with that. I probably got a fracture from it."

"You'll heal."

Katie stuck out her tongue impishly at the Doctor. "You're just jealous because I can heal faster than you can treat a wound."

"Am not."

"Are too."

The Doctor turned away from Katie, though she noticed that he was smiling. "Who are you?" he asked the children.

"I'm Aiden," the boy said, gesturing to himself. "My older sister is Katrina, and the little one is Jaya."

Color was beginning to return to Katrina's face as she stood. She appeared to be about thirteen, and Jaya was probably six.

"How are all of you still here?" the Doctor asked. "There's an army of Weeping Angels out there."

"The Angels!" Aiden cried, his eyes widening. He dropped the bat and sprinted to the door, which he closed and locked. Triple locked.

A light sprang up from the far corner as Katie turned to see Katrina setting down a lit kerosene lantern.

"How long have you been hiding here?" Katie asked as the hopped gently down from the glass case.

"A little less than a week. We didn't dare leave," Katrina answered, her voice soft. "We would have had to soon though. Our parents didn't exactly keep a lot of food here. What did you do to my arm?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrow at Kathryn. She leaned away from him.

"Not my fault I had to zap her. She was trying to choke me."

The Doctor sighed. He looked at the three new finds. They appeared a bit thin and worn out.

"Kathryn, why don't you pull out a few of your MRE's for our new friends. I'm sure we've both got a lot of questions."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

"So the two of you are searching for parts so you can leave this place?"

"Yes," the Doctor said, nodding in response to Katrina.

"That means you have a way out," Aiden said. Katie smiled lightly.

"We do indeed. The three of you could hitch a ride, if need be."

"Kathryn!"

"What? It isn't like we haven't got room."

"Yes, but it's my—"

"Stop calling TARDIS an it! You're as bad as everyone else who sees her. You know she's alive, so stop acting like she's just a box."

The Doctor smiled lightly. "Good to see you're feeling better."

Katie blinked, realizing the truth in his words, though she didn't say it. "Of course I'm doing fine. I always am."

"Are the two of you father and daughter?" Aiden asked. Katie and the Doctor looked at him with wide eyes.

"No."

"Decidedly not."

"Yes you are."

The group looked at Jaya, who had insisted on sitting in the Doctor's lap. She was busy eating a chocolate bar, the last piece of food that had been in the store's back room. Aiden had had it taped to the bottom of the table they were sitting around, empty MRE containers scattered on it.

"Jaya, don't contradict the visitors. It's not polite," Katrina quietly admonished her sister.

"But they are!" Jaya protested. "They are too related!"

The Doctor held up a hand as Katrina started to say something again. He lifted Jaya onto the table to that he could talk directly to her.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you feel the same. All edges and color and sparkles." She wrinkled her forehead. "Dark sparkles," she said with a decisive nod before taking another bit of candy.

"What does that mean?" the Doctor asked, his voice gentle and friendly.

"It doesn't mean anything," Aiden quickly said. Katie caught the glance he shared with Katrina. The Doctor had seen it too.

"What is she talking about?" the Doctor said, his curious tone firmer.

Aiden looked reluctant to speak, but Katrina spoke up instead. "Jaya's…she's special."

"Katrina!"

"Aiden, these are good people."

"We don't really know who they are. They may have come for her or something. You know what Dad said."

"Well Dad's not here!" Katrina said, her voice raising the slightest bit. "If you don't step up, then I will." She turned back to Katie and the Doctor. Jaya was still eating her chocolate, seemingly oblivious to the topic at hand. "We don't really know what it is. Ever since she could speak, she's been really perceptive. She can tell what you're thinking if she knows you well enough, and she's never cried when she wants something. She always told us what she wanted, but she _sent_ the want. Like she was beaming it right into our minds."

"Mildly telepathic. Nothing to be worried about," the Doctor said cheerfully.

"It's not just telepathy Doctor," Katrina said. "It's…well sometimes she—"

"Jaya can predict the future," Aiden finished for his sister. "Small things, like what Mom would bring home as a surprise dessert, or a piece Dad would sell."

"But it's been growing, hasn't it?" the Doctor quietly said, the question more of a statement. Katrina and Aiden nodded.

"It's been becoming bigger and bigger. And her mind is even stretching into past things! She looks at someone and knows what they did last year! We're worried about it. It's not…normal."

"Neither am I," Katie said in response to Aiden's statement. There was a silence about the table.

"More?" Jaya asked, holding the empty wrapper up towards the Doctor, her brown eyes large, her tone pleading. The Doctor glanced over at Katie, seemingly at a loss as to how to act with children. Katie smiled teasingly.

"Suppose when you reach your age, you forget what to do with kids." She turned to Jaya and held out her arms, knowing that her long sleeves and the gloves she was now wearing would protect the young girl. "Come on sweetie. You have stickies all over your face."

Jaya sat still for a moment, blinking once, twice. Then she smiled sweetly and held her arms back out towards Katie, who swept her up.

"There's a water closet just around the corner," Katrina called out. Katie nodded in acknowledgement.

Katie balanced Jaya on her hip as she wet a cloth. Despite Jaya's forty-five pounds, Katie held her weight easily.

"Thank you for coming."

"Coming?" Katie asked gently wiping chocolate smears off Jaya's face.

"I sent you a message and you came."

Katie paused, looking quizzically at Jaya. "You were the mental trail?"

"Uh huh. I didn't know how else to make you come and save us."

Katie continued wiping her face. "Well it's a good thing you did, otherwise you'd still be stuck here."

Jaya was silent for a moment, staring at Katie. "I'm sorry."

"For what, honey?"

"For what happened to you. And what's gonna happen."

Katie's expression held underlying fear. "What are you talking about."

"You got hurt." The little girl touched Katie over the place where one of her hearts was. "You got better, but it's gonna hurt again. The nice man's gonna hurt too."

Katie finished wiping Jaya's face. "I think you might want to keep that part to yourself. The Doctor worries enough about me as it is."

"He's worried about you now."

Katie smiled lightly. "Oh, he's always worried about something."

"No, he's really really worried," Jaya insisted. "It's because of them."

"Them? Oh, you mean the Angels. Ah, we'll get past."

"But you didn't. You brought them with you."

Katie's brow furrowed. "What do you mean Jaya?"

"They're in your eyes."

* * *

><p>Katie came back into the room with Jaya. The Doctor was still chatting with Aiden and Katrina, looking a tad uncomfortable. Katie set Jaya down on the table and motioned that she wanted to speak to the Doctor. They stepped off to the side.<p>

"Is there something wrong with my eyes?"

The Doctor blinked. "What?"

"Jaya said she saw something. I think I believe her."

"Why?"

"I'm starting to think that the Angels are doing something. Remember I told you about the silver stuff all over you? Well, it's everywhere else too. The air is full of it. I still don't know what it is, but it's all over the place."

"And you think the Angels are using it somehow. To do what?"

"I have no clue. Maybe it's what they eat."

"Potential energy?" Katie nodded.

"It's very possible. An entire city full of people would have a lot of potential. And you live so flipping long that you would be full of it. But why am I seeing it now, and not before?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment. "Perhaps your programming is changing."

"No."

"Kathryn—"

"No, I won't accept that," Katie said firmly. "Maybe I just needed to see a lot of it at once, who knows. I mean, here it's free floating. Everywhere else it was still locked in people. Still, back to the first question: Is there anything in my eyes."

The Doctor stared into Katie's wide open eyes, searching. There was a flicker of something in the back of them. It could have been the light.

"I'm not sure. I have to take a closer look."

Katie caught onto his meaning. "You keep out. We've talked about this once before."

"I'll be careful. If the Angels have done something to you, then we have to check on it. If you're just being an adolescent human, then good for you for experiencing growth pains. But we need to check."

Katie sighed. "Fine. Just be quick. I don't want you prodding."

The Doctor gently laid his fingers on Katie's temples. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he effortlessly made the connection, years of practice making it simple to step through the door between their minds.

He was in a labyrinth. Varying kinds of stone made up the walls, a veritable patchwork of rock. All along the walls of the maze doors stood, each one perfectly identical, each one closed. A girl stood off to the side. Her hair was golden brown, skin white but heavily freckled, nose lightly snubbed, and her round eyes were a dark, dark blue. Her figure was stocky, though not so far as to make her fat. He peered at her.

"Kathryn?"

"That's not my name, but it works," the girl said, her voice deeper than he was used to hearing from her. It carried a carelessness that had vanished from her speech weeks ago. "Why are you here? There's nothing to see here. No one but me. You can leave now."

"Things can hide."

"Why would I hide something?"

"You wouldn't. Others would."

The girl got suddenly angry. "What, you don't trust me to make decisions? You think I don't have sense? You think just because you have your charisma, your prowess, that that somehow elevates you? You think that just because you have the name that you have the right to preside over me?"

The Doctor had no idea as to where that outburst had come from, but he didn't like it. He took a step towards the girl. "Kathryn—"

Instantly, he felt something stop behind him. Turning around, he found himself nose to fang with a Weeping Angel, its arm stretched out towards him. He started, the sight of the open jaws startling him. The girl walked up behind him.

"Isn't he lovely? All sparkles and light. So peaceful."

He looked aghast at Katie. The statue before them was anything but peaceful. "What are you talking about?"

Her expression was one of pity. "Oh Doctor, I know you can't see it, but they're so lovely, so gentle, so graceful." Katie seemed to get an idea.

"I know!" she exclaimed gleefully. "Maybe, since you're here, you can see them as they really are. Then you'd understand." She grabbed his hand. The labyrinth shifted around them, Katie effortlessly zipping through her own mind. The world stopped spinning in front of a door. Dozens of Weeping Angels stood around it, reaching for the light streaming out from under it, the multiple colors spinning around the bottom.

The Doctor could feel the crackle in the air from the energy straining to be released from its prison. His senses were sharpened, and everything carried a glow. More than ever, the Doctor felt the urge to run, move, think, talk, anything but stand still. He vaguely wondered if Katie felt that way all the time.

"I do, but even more so," the girl clutching his hand said. She didn't look up at him, and her voice was more of a sad monotone. "I feel it so much that it hurts. The only thing that helps is to run and never stop, and that only makes it worse." She sighed. "I wish I knew why I have to be like this."

Kathryn seemed oblivious to the presence or the Angels. A few of them turned to look at them, light sparks springing from their joints as they moved.

"This is where I keep it all," the girl said. "Maybe it can let you see."

Not letting go of him, she reached for the handle. The Doctor jerked her back. The Angel's gazes followed the movements.

"What are you doing?" she protested. "This is okay. It's only my mind. I know what's in it."

"No you don't, because you always refuse to look at it. If those things want it—"

"They aren't things!" the girl screeched, nearly in tears. "They're friends! They understand me! They can hear the colors, feel the sounds, taste the light, smell the thoughts. They know what it's like! They know how it feels to be trapped in yourself, to want to move even when you can't. They know how much it hurts! You don't! You never could." She sniffed. "And you never will."

The Doctor felt himself pushed out of Katie's mind; they both reeled back, inhaling deeply.

"What…the hell was…was that?" Katie said, trying to catch her breath. "How deep were you in?"

The Doctor grabbed Katie's shoulders, bending down so that he could clearly see her face. "Kathryn, did you see them too?"

"I…"

The Doctor's gaze seemed to drill into her. She licked her lips nervously, his look unnerving her.

"Yes. I did. Doctor, how did they get into my head?"

"You watched them," Jaya's small voice said. "They were pretty, so you looked at them, and they crawled inside."

Katie broke away from the Doctor and crouched in front of Jaya. Aiden and Katrina looked confused and worried. "Jaya, how did they crawl inside?"

"They're like you."

The Doctor's face adopted a look of comprehension. Katrina spoke out.

"How are they like Katie? She hasn't done anything."

"No, but she does the same thing."

Katie glared at the Doctor. "I haven't gone whisking others away to other times, or killed anyone. Well, not recently."

"You eat the same way they do. Energy absorption. They're a bit pickier than you are, but it boils down to the same thing. And then there's energy manipulation. You aren't as advanced as the Angels are at it, but I've still seen you use heat and sound to get what you want. And all those things you said." The Doctor peered at Katie. "They've used that to pry into your head. And now they're there to stay."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

"You have to leave me here then."

The Doctor stared incredulously at Katie. "What?"

"Doctor, it's the only way you can get out alright. They have enough mirrors here that we can set them up with suits. You take them back to TARDIS, find a good place for them to start over. I'll stay here."

"I'm not leaving you."

"You've got to," Katie said firmly. "Look, potential energy is just the time that people could have had, right? So that means that TARDIS is full of potential energy, which is time. If they're in my head, and they aren't going to come out any time soon, then I can't just walk into TARDIS and hand them an unlimited supply of food. So, you have to leave me here."

"Kathryn. I'm not leaving you here. Now, what exactly have you been seeing?"

Katie sighed. "The energy is silver, streaks of purple running through it. Mental stuff. Probably left over bits of psyche."

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, trying to think. There was no way he was going to lose Katie, but she was right in the aspect that he couldn't take her back onto the TARDIS.

"Your ship got shielding?"

The Doctor stared incredulously at Aiden. "What?"

"How well sealed off is it?"

The Doctor looked away, flabbergasted. "I'm trying to figure out how to keep all of us alive, and you want to know schematics?"

Aiden looked askance at the Doctor. "Gee, thanks. Lot of faith you put in the only three survivors. Look, I don't understand everything that Katie has going on inside her skull, but it seems to me that if those things use potential energy with brain waves to get inside her head, they have to use it to stay there. So, if you stuck her in a place where they no longer had the brains to mess with her head, then it would all be fixed."

Katie and the Doctor stared at Aiden. Then Katie looked at the Doctor. "You know, for a human, he's not half bad."

"Well, that's rich coming from you," Aiden said, vaguely insulted. "Talking like you aren't even one."

Katie and the Doctor both raised an eyebrow at Aiden. He looked nervously from one to the other. "You're joshing."

The Doctor and Katie turned away from him. "Doctor, you're better with arts and crafts than I am. How about you get the girls fitted out while I find you your metal? Aiden, you can help me. I need to see where you keep your best supplies."

* * *

><p>"How are we supposed to walk in these?" Katrina asked. Katie smiled wryly.<p>

"It's either that or get eaten. We'll need you to carry a few things as well. Just a bag. Aiden, you get to have the glass. I already put it in a leather bag you had lying around. I'll take the metal, seeing as it's heaviest." A tug on Katie's pant leg drew her attention down towards Jaya. Jaya's lips never moved, but Katie distinctly heard her request. She wasn't quite able to suppress the laugh that bubbled up from her throat.

"Doctor, Jaya has asked for you to carry her. Katrina, do you happen to have some kind of carrier, possibly one the Doctor could wear on his back?"

Katrina nodded and went to go get it. Katie looked at the Doctor, biting her lip in an effort to quiet further merriment. She was certain she was the only one of the group that could see the near-terror in the Doctor's eyes. It made her worried though, that the fear was under his usual practiced blank look, the one that always signaled a hidden pain.

"Here it is," Katrina said, holding up something that resembled a backpack. It looked a little small, but would suffice. "How far is your…what did you call it? Your ship."

"She," Katie instantly corrected. "TARDIS is a her, not an it."

Katrina looked at Katie oddly as the Doctor answered, mind not entirely focused. "Around a mile. Katie, are you sure Jaya wanted me to carry her?"

Katie smiled, her tongue poking out from between her incisors. "Yes, I'm sure. It makes sense actually. Aiden's toting glass shards, Katrina's probably still partially wiped from my earlier defensive measures and has to carry the self-insulating compartmentalized giptheorium thermos and your other bits and bobs, I'm lugging some of the heaviest metals you could possibly pick and might kill Jaya if we made skin to skin contact. You, however, are a tall, strong man who is carrying things that are relatively light." Katie tilted her head to study him for a moment. "You'll have to take that coat off though."

The Doctor looked her up and down incredulously. "My coat?"

Katie nodded. "Mm-hm. The carrier isn't gonna fit over the mirrors and the coat. May not even go over the suit coat. So off with 'em."

The Doctor looked like he wanted to protest further, but did as Katie said. He still couldn't let it go without some kind of protest. "You're getting awfully bossy lately."

"Yep, I know. It's what happens when you hang around with a guy who considers himself the center of the universe."

"I know a hermit who lives there, actually. Brilliant bloke. Bit of a narcissist."

"You two must get along famously. You'll have to take me to meet him some time." Katie took the trench coat and tossed it to Aiden.

"Put it on, it should protect you from extra glass shards." She turned back to the Doctor, who was nearing speechlessness. "Doctor, off with the suit coat. Jaya needs as much room as possible." She caught the look on his face. "Oh come on, stop the protesting. You and Jaya get along just fine, and Aiden's not going to damage the coat Janis Joplin gave you. Next question is how we're traveling."

"I thought we were walking," Katrina said.

"She means what order we're walking in," Aiden corrected. "I think the Doctor should go first with Jaya. After all, he knows where we're going. Then Katrina and Katie can walk in between and I'll bring up the rear."

Katie raised an eyebrow as the Doctor leaned backwards as though settling in for a show.

"Why are you last?"

Aiden shrugged as though it were obvious. "You have no mirrors and you're female. The men always protect both ends."

"I don't think ya'll quite get it," Katie said, her Californian accent becoming a light Texas drawl. The Doctor made a mental note to ask more about that, after she was done with her speech. "Those angels out thar have decided to nest in mah head. Therefore, they have plans to use me, and that means they ain't likely to try bumpin' me off anytime soon. And if you try to pull the gender card again, I swear I will hog tie you and carry you in to TARDIS's console room." Her California accent came back for her last comment. "Comprende?"

Aiden nodded silently, seemingly impressed by Katie's speech rather than offended. She tossed the Doctor's suit jacket to Katrina, who silently put it on after placing Jaya into the carrier on the Doctor's back. Katie gestured towards the door.

"Shall we commence our journey?"

* * *

><p>The Doctor watched Katie's eyes as she stepped out of the store behind him. Instantly, he saw them start to cloud, and knew that the Angels were asserting their hold on her mind again. He had to prevent that, not just for her safety, but wasn't sure how to do it. His roaming faze landed on Aiden, and a small light bulb moment came to him. How to pass it on?<p>

The distinct feeling of someone sending him a message invaded his mind, and he immediately knew it was Jaya. Had she heard his thoughts?

She must have, for a few seconds later Aiden blinked, then nodded at the Doctor. The Doctor smiled lightly, thankful that Jaya had been able to help.

_You're welcome._

* * *

><p>"So where do you come from?"<p>

Katie blinked, trying to clear out the dreamy state enough to recognize the question. "Sorry Aiden, what was that?"

He moved so that he was walking next to her and pronounced the words slowly. "Where…do…you…come…from?"

"America. West Coast area."

Aiden seemed confused momentarily. "Oh, you mean New Canada."

"You want to run that by me again?" Katie said, her voice nearly a growl. Her head was suddenly very clear.

"America is now known as New Canada. A few hundred years ago there was a war. Not much of one, America caved easily."

Katie fought to keep herself from smacking Aiden for what was obviously a cruel prank. "So America is once again under British rule?"

Aiden shook his head. "No, Canada broke off a couple million years back, just before the United Earth Senate began. They just decided to take over America. Purely for the taxes, of course."

"Doctor, will I get into trouble if I put Aiden into a coma?" Katie called forward.

"Yes," he called back, not missing a beat. "We'd have to carry him, and it would slow us down. We've just hit the Angels. Single file."

Katie glared at Aiden, though it was a bit playful. Her Californian accent thinned just enough for her Texan one to come through. "Just watch your mouth, Bubba Jo. I know my country's history, thank you very much, and it ain't never even touched by Canada."

"Where does that accent come from?" Aiden asked as he maneuvered around the first few outstretched hands.

"Texas," Katie answered, using her broadest. She hardly paid any attention to the Angels as she effortlessly wound around them. She blinked a few times, her mind feeling foggy. Katie smiled lightly and allowed it to come. Aiden glanced up towards the Doctor, and then back to Katie.

"What about your—?"

A deep rumbling stopped his next words. Katie felt it too and looked up as rocks started to fall.

"Cave in!"

Jaya started screaming in terror and Katrina looked worried. Katie and Aiden had fallen behind while they were talking. Aiden now tried to close the gap, but Katie latched onto his arm, yanking him behind her, knocking over several statues in the process.

"Kathryn!"

Katie didn't answer the Doctor. Instead, she unslung the metal from her shoulder, twirled around a few times, and let it fly. It landed near the Doctor's foot as she dragged Aiden further back.

Rocks fell onto the spot they had been moments before. Katie and Aiden kept running, the rocks still crashing behind them. Aiden felt a sudden shove that sent him sprawling and shattered the mirrors. He laid flat on the ground covering his head as the dust settled.

He slowly lifted his head, looking for Katie. He didn't see her.

Aiden jumped up, a cut on his head making him sway. "Katie! Katie!" He worked his way along the wall of boulders, searching.

"Kathryn!"

Suddenly, a bloody hand sticking out of the rocks caught his eye. A sinking feeling hit his stomach.

"Katie!"

Swiftly moving rocks, he uncovered the rest of her body. Her head lolled grotesquely and blood covered her tattered clothes. Aiden pulled her out, trying to be as gentle as possible in his fear.

Once she was completely out, Aiden laid his fingers against her neck, checking for a pulse.

There was nothing.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Aiden stared in horror, but only for a moment. The next second he was up, sick with worry for his two sisters. Without coherent thought, he scaled the boulders like a madman, searching for a way through.

Then everything stopped. Just stopped. The light from the emergency lamps vanished. All sound fell away. There was no heat, and his mind was blank. Even time had no meaning. He was in a great sea of nothing, only aware of his fragile heartbeat.

_Toump toump._

_Toump toump._

_Toump toump._

Then everything came rushing back in, a burst of sensations and thought that nearly made him lose his grip on the rocks. A heaving gasp and a sickening crack drew his attention downwards towards Katie.

Her eyes were wide open, her chest heaving as she desperately tried to pull in air. Aiden watched with horrified fascination as joints that had only moments before been bending the wrong way moved back to where they belonged, and pulverized flesh reconstructed itself.

He went into a controlled slide down the rocks to Katie, keeping his distance from her. She lay still as she brought her breath under control.

"That was…that was…what was that?" she gasped out. Aiden shook his head mutely.

Katie started moving, slowly at first as her muscles rebuilt, then enough to stand again. She stared at Aiden, who was beginning to realize she was as confused as he was.

"You died," he said, the sentence a fact. Then his face screwed up. "You…_died._ You were dead!"

Katie nodded and swallowed. "Yeah. I guess I was."

"And now you're not?"

"And now I'm not."

Aiden looked at her, confused. "Does that happen often? The dying thing?"

"First time." Katie straightened with a jerk. "The others!"

Aiden had already started for the boulders when he realized that Katie wasn't behind him. She was frantically searching through her bag. She stopped and groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said as she held up a mechanical device of some kind. Whatever it had been, it was now crushed beyond repair.

"Damn rocks broke it!"

"What was it?" Aiden asked.

"My TARDIS communicator," Katie said. "At least, that's what I call it. It sends a digital signal through space, even time if need be. I had to work for three weeks to find the parts, and it took me another three days to build it!"

Aiden's hops fell with his face. "So we can't reach them."

Katie sighed, shaking her head. "Nope." She smiled light at Aiden. "Don't worry too much. Your sisters are with the Doctor. He'll keep them safe."

_And himself. I hope._

* * *

><p>At that moment, the Doctor was a bit more concerned about what was wrong with Jaya then getting them to the TARDIS. There wasn't a mark on her, but she was shrieking so loud he was beginning to worry that she would bring the caves down again. At least the Angel's had booked it while the dust hid them. Where they had gone was anyone's worry.<p>

"Jaya, it's okay. No one's hurt," Katrina soothed.

"Aiden!" she screamed again, struggling to get to the wall of rock that separated them from Katie and Aiden.

"I'm sure Aiden's fine. Katie's with him, right Doctor?"

"Oh sure," the Doctor said, hands in his trouser pockets. "Definitely. They'll be alright."

"See now?" Katrina said with a smile. "Nothing to worry about."

"Is too!" Jaya cried, her shrieks deteriorating into sobs. "They won't come back."

"Yes they will!" Katrina insisted gently. "All the tunnels are connected to this main one. Aiden will get them both back, safe and sound."

"No, he won't. Only one is coming back."

Katrina and the Doctor shared a glance. "Jaya, you can't know that," Katrina said, even as she remembered the other—correct—predictions.

"Can too."

The Doctor crouched down in front of Jaya, his look penetrating. "Jaya, I know that you see things, and I know that they're right. But I don't think you know Katie very well. If she's with Aiden, she'll keep him safe."

_And herself as well. I hope._

* * *

><p>"So Burrow Boy, any alternate routes?"<p>

"Depends. Can you tell me where you were?"

Katie stared at him blankly. "How should I know? You people didn't exactly put up sign posts."

"Let me put it this way," Aiden said, irritation creeping into his voice. "We are in the Central Tunnel, the main road from the city to the surface. There are other tunnels coming off of this one, mostly tunnels used for mining. Were you in the Central Tunnel, or one of the offshoots?"

"An off shoot."

"How much further down from where we were before the cave in?"

"Maybe…a quarter mile?"

"You were certainly close to the surface entrance," Aiden mused. He rubbed his fingers together, thinking. Katie closed her eyes, watching the purple draw in towards him. Of course, she could barely see it through the silver haze.

"There's a parallel shaft to this one, Obsidian Hall. Lots of obsidian in that one. The only one with it, though we never could figure out why. We need to backtrack and go along Boron's outskirts until we can get to it. From there we can find a way back into the Central Tunnel and your ship."

"She's not my ship. She's got a mind of her own. The Doctor's so old he forgets that."

"Your father can't be more than thirty-five," Aiden scoffed.

Katie glared at him. "The Doctor is not my father. And he's a lot older than you might think." She waved her hand at Aiden. "Now lead the way. We need to get back."

It took thirty minutes to reach Obsidian Hall. The entire tunnel almost looked like it was made of black glass. It was pretty, in a threatening sort of way.

"Aiden, help me out here for a moment: Do your tunnels often collapse?"

Aiden thought about the question. "No. First time that I know of, actually. It's solid rock down here. No earth to shore up. As long as we check for and fix any natural fissures, nothing ever falls in."

"Then why would the Central Tunnel suddenly collapse?"

"Don't know. But now you have me worried Obsidian will do the same."

Katie shook her head. "No, I don't think you need to fret about that. Speaking from experience, you can do a lot with energy. Sound waves, heat waves, even light if it's packed down enough. I get the feeling the Angels pulled something."

"Why would they bring the tunnel crashing in on us?" Aiden asked.

"Divide and conquer. Oldest trick in the book. They knew that if the Doctor was nearby, any chance of putting me to good use was non-existent. And what with TARDIS damaged, he can't go searching for us."

"Do you think the Doctor will be able to fix your…"Aiden caught Katie's look. "To fix TARDIS?"

"Course he will. Wizard at fixing stuff, especially her. He and TARDIS, TARDIS and he, the perfect pair, always know how to help the other. He'll set her to rights, don't worry."

"But he hasn't got the glass," Aiden argued.

Katie answered the protest with a confident note. "Oh, the vortex manipulator isn't that big, you wouldn't need a lot of glass for it. He'll find some hidden in the rooms. It'll be fine."

"Are you lying to me?"

"Yes I am."

Aiden smiled wryly, but said nothing. Katie, as was her habit, broke the silence a minute later. "What's the door for?" she asked, pointing to a solid wood door that looked quite out of place in the rock wall.

"Oh, that's one of the storage areas. We keep blasting things there."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "We're in the year some-odd million and you still use explosives? You haven't gone to lasers yet?"

"Drilling laser's take a lot of power, power that we can't spare often," Aiden answered. "The city comes first. We do have lasers, but you have to go through a lot of red tape to use one, and even then the use is limited."

"Where do you keep the fancy drills?"

"Some place up ahead. Near where we need to be actually. Once I see my sisters, I could show you."

"Sure why…" Katie's voice trailed away as she swayed. Aiden looked concerned.

"You alright?"

Katie smiled at him in a slightly dreamlike state. "Yeah. Yeah sure, just a little tired."

Aiden looked oddly at Katie. "Your eyes look funny."

"Just tired," Katie said, stepping forward and waving her hand in the air. She continued around the corner and abruptly stopped.

"Oh. That's why my head's foggy."

Aiden came to stand next to her. "I suppose so."

Obsidian Hall was full of Weeping Angels.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

While Aiden and Katie were facing a horde of Angels, the Doctor, Katrina, and Jaya were seeing almost none. Almost. Along their remaining quarter mile walk, the Angels were scattered about along the way, watching them.

"While I'm glad I don't have to wear the mirrors anymore," Katrina said as she shifted Jaya in her arms, "I still wish they hadn't shattered during the cave in. It makes me nervous, having those statues here with no way to protect ourselves."

"If they wanted to do something, they would have done it," the Doctor said, his tone less than comforting. While his mind was working on how to find—and likely rescue—Katie and Aiden, his first priority was to not drop the many bags he was carrying. It was difficult to do, as they were all rather heavy. At least Katrina was holding Jaya now, and the Doctor was smugly aware of the fact he had greater strength and stamina than a human.

"It's as though they're keeping tabs on us. Why would we need watching?"

"I'm more concerned with where the others are."

"They could be on the surface," Katrina said, almost offhand. "We're very close to the entrance here."

"What?"

"Mm-hm. The Surface Gate is about a half-mile from this point, probably less. I'm not sure. I haven't actually been up top before."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You haven't been outside?"

"No. The thought always scared me. I never understood how people could stand to hang onto the skin of a planet, with nothing to protect them. Down here, the living rock surrounds us, keeps us safe. We can live our whole lives just from what rock provides. We have natural springs, building materials, and we can even grow food using the moss, fungus, and other plants that grow here." Katrina looked openly at the Doctor. "Where do you like best? What's home for you?"

The Doctor was at a loss for an answer. He wondered if that hadn't been Katrina's intent. Her gray eyes seemed to pierce through everything. Maybe it was one of her side effects of living with Jaya.

"Oh, don't really have one place I call home. Always somewhere or somewhen new to go see."

"I thought as much," Katrina said quietly. "You had that sort of look. The one that's always searching but never gets anywhere."

"What do you mean?"

"When you burst into our shop to rescue Katie, you seemed to look at everything at the same moment, but focus on each of us individually. It's like you're searching for something or someone that isn't there anymore, or a person you never found. It's the same kind of look a neighbor of ours always had, like he couldn't quite focus on us, while at the same time knew all about us." Katrina smiled sadly. "The Angels probably took him. He was always very kind to us. I hope it wasn't too hard on him."

The Doctor looked at Katrina, then turned the corner to the side shaft where TARDIS was parked.

* * *

><p>"How do we get through this?"<p>

"I wouldn't know," Katie said in answer to Aiden's question. Her voice was slightly distant. "We could always walk through."

"Without mirrors on?" Aiden asked, his tone plainly saying he felt Katie was a few ants short of a picnic.

"Why not? They won't hurt—" Katie stopped her sentence, shook her head, and then started again while speaking slowly. "If they wanted to hurt us, they would have. Awful pretty though, aren't they?"

Aiden didn't answer Katie. He jumped up at high as he could, straining to see over the Angels.

"Oh, as if things couldn't get worse."

"Hmm?"

Aiden turned to Katie, frustration on his features. "The tunnels' collapsed down this way as well, and as near as I can figure this was our turning. Now what do we do?"

Katie didn't answer. Aiden hadn't really expected her to. She had an expression similar to someone on too much pain medication.

"We need to back up," Katie said, trying to force herself to still consider the Angels a threat. The sense of well-being worked its way through her mind until it was nearly impossible not to laugh. "We need to back up until my head feels less…nice. Hard to think when I'm looking at them."

Aiden and Katie did just that, keeping their eyes on the Angels, who sat there, watching. They could take their own good time.

When Katie's head felt less full of cotton, she gave a firm decisive nod. "Right. Problem one: Angels. Problem two: Second cave in that prevents reunion with TARDIS. Nothing we can do about that one."

"Maybe there is," Aiden said. "At least, mostly. Look, the drilling laser is really close to here. If we could get to that, I'm sure that between the two of us, we could make it work."

"Smart plan. How do we get through the killer rocks to the laser?"

Aiden sighed. "That I don't know."

The two thought for a few minutes, then Katie spoke up. "If you aren't too afraid of cooties, we might be able to link together."

Aiden's confused look prompted further explanation. "From what the Doctor told me, the Angels work by touching you and sending you back in time. They may not be able to send just one person if the two people are touching, and I'm sure they could let me go if they didn't need me any longer."

"We can't know that for sure."

"It's the only shot we have," Katie answered somberly. Opening her still dusty, now torn bag, she produced a pair of leather gloves and slipped them on. She held them up for Aiden to see.

"I always carry an extra pair. Don't want to accidently kill someone just because I don't have gloves." She held out her right hand to Aiden. "Come on, we don't have all day. I want to get back to the Doctor, and you want back to your sisters."

After a moments trepidation, Aiden took Katie's hand.

"Now, you just keep me talking," Katie said. "I'm giving you a once in a life time chance to ask a girl prying questions with no fear of getting slapped. Well, not much of one."

Aiden laughed as they started walking. "You aren't exactly a girl. You're older than I am!"

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Good start. Free tip, never tell a girl she's older than you. And you are too older than I am. I'm only fifteen."

"You look older than that."

"Oh hush."

Katie felt the Angel's influence creeping in. It was gentle, oh so gentle. Beckoning. She blinked, and for a split second she saw all the colors, and—

A tug on her right arm startled her. She looked at Aiden. "Boron City to Miner Katie, come in Miner Katie." He gave her a stern, worried look. "You froze up. Stood still as the statues, eyes closed, stupid smile on your face. Not a good sign."

"Right. Sorry," Katie said, shaking her head. "Note to self: do not blink." She fixed Aiden with a look. "Next question."

"Ah…How did you meet the Doctor?"

"Too easy. That's memory recall, not soul-search."

"What is your relationship with the Doctor?"

Katie was silent, her mind thrown off balance by the question as she moved around an Angel. Her first reaction was to snap back at Aiden.

"We aren't lovers, if that's your implication. The guy is 888 years older than I am!"

"No one is that old. Not even you."

Katie bit her tongue to hold back the laugh. "Oh, he is. Trust me. He's got the years of experience, and enough heartache, to cover more than that. He's a lonely old man spinning around space in a blue box, and he is perfectly amazing."

Katie's eyes were starting to water from holding them open for so long. Aiden noticed this and sped up a little.

"Nearly there. You still didn't answer the question. If you aren't father and daughter, and you aren't sleeping together, then what do you stick around for?"

"The daily adrenaline rush," Katie said bluntly. "We're always getting in scrapes like this. Worse than this, actually. And we always get out. Heck, this morning he sprung me from prison, and just last week we were running for our lives from a very angry cow."

"A mad bull?"

"Yeah. It's my fault really. He told me not to get into that matador outfit."

Aiden shook his head. "You really are insane. So he's just a sort of a travel guide?"

"Certainly not! I trust that man with my life, and the lives of anyone else I were to meet. He's my friend, and the only one I've really got."

Aiden said nothing to this. They moved around the last few Angels, and Aiden paused. "Here we are," he said. "The drilling laser."

Katie looked at him and smiled. "Well done, Burrow Boy." She looked back at the huge, cannon-looking machine on wheels, eyes watering furiously.

And then she blinked.

Instantly, the colors rushed in. Silver and purple ran together, sparks from the Angels surrounding Katie and Aiden like fireworks against a cloudy night sky. The Angel she instinctively knew to be the leader was in front of her—when had he gotten there? Not that it mattered. He was beautiful, nothing to fear from him. His voice, images really, filled her mind, the sound of liquid harps creating the pictures.

She saw the whole story laid out; how he had just wanted to see the universe, so he took a ride on a ship. He was lonely in Boron, and there was so much to share with others that he sent out a subspace message, letting the words carry to any Crying Cherubs—wasn't that a good name for them? Better, kinder, nicer than Lonely Assassins.

His friends had come, but then they needed to feed. They were kind though. No ones life ever ended. They just got a new chance somewhere else, that was all.

Katie smiled at the next request, stubbornly ignoring the frantic tugging on her arm, the sharp slap to her cheek, the calling voice of…of someone. Someone annoying. They were getting in the way of the words.

The picture came through again. Would Katie like to do the same thing? Travel the stars without ever hurting another person? Living among others who understood her, ones that took in everything the universe gave out? She could still use the TARDIS for travel, if she wanted. They all could. And she could live with them always, dancing across the stars, never having to harm another person ever again.

Yes, Katie thought, her mental voice becoming harp music. Yes, she would like to.

The Lead Angel—the lovely, lovely creature—slowly moved his hand towards her, holding it out to her in welcome. The others joined in song. She started to reach out for him.

A swift jerk started pulling her away. Katie felt as though she had been floating on a cloud, only to be yanked back to earth. No, Katie's mind yelled, her eyes still closed. Using all her strength, she pulled backwards, forcing…whoever the person was to let go of her. Weren't they important once? Maybe not. How could they be if they were so cruel as to take her away?

She could see the Angel's moving towards the dark shape. The music started in her head again, asking her to open her eyes, enough so that she could let her family move, but not that she could see them as cold hard stone.

Alright, Katie thought. After all, the person won't get hurt. They just get to see another time. Who doesn't want to travel through time? Her eyelids flickered. Travel in time? Where did the blue box in her head come from?

"How did you meet the Doctor!"

The words were muffled, but the last word came through. Suddenly, everything rushed back in, and Katie's eyes snapped open.

Too late. Aiden was gone, the cold, gray, lifeless Angels gathered around the spot where he had last been.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Katie felt her throat constrict. Shame, guilt, and self-loathing washed over her, wiping out all other thoughts. All she had to do was hold onto him, and try not to blink. It wasn't that hard! She should have held on!

Katie glanced up. The empty gray eyes of the Lead Angel stared back at her. Anger flared up in her chest. She could have held on, that was true. She bore a good portion of the blame for the loss of Aiden; that was an unavoidable fact. But the Angels…! Her mouth curled into a cruel smile as she narrowed her eyes. Though she could not see it, her green eyes had begun to swirl with silver color.

"You're good," she snarled, addressing the Lead Angel. "You are very, very good. But you also made a very, very bad move. That boy has sisters to care for, and I'll be damned if I let you live after helping me to let go of him. I don't know how you kill stone, but I will destroy every—single—one of you, even if I have to melt you down individually."

Katie's hand flashed out, the heel of her palm hitting the Lead Angels chest. It was a move made in anger, a futile act meant to punctuate her statement. To her great astonishment, the stone cracked. A faint trickle of silver came leaking out. Katie's laugh was short and hard.

"What do you know? Stone does bleed!"

Shoving statues aside, Katie made a mad dash for the drilling laser. It looked enough like a tank, and the city didn't need the power. It wouldn't be hard to either run over or melt them.

But they were moving targets. They could make a mad dash for it, for the surface even. There had to be dozens of ways to get back to the Central Tunnel. They could be back on the surface in a minute, and whoever was out there could be removed just like that.

So how to stop them?

How do you kill rock?

You don't, Katie realized. You just have to make it so small that it can't go anywhere. And the best way to crunch up rock, and keep it that way was to use explosives. Explosives that could be used for mining.

Katie closed her eyes again, this time to keep the Angels frozen where they were. The silver mist had no hold on her now; her anger blotted it all out. Pelting along at top speed, she was soon back at the storage compartment. The lock was easy to force, and the mounds of top grade C-4 and dynamite were a welcome sight, as was the hand held drill. Katie had to spare a smile when she saw the large U.S. on the side of the boxes.

"We always did make the best explosives. Time to put good ol' American quality to the test."

Katie unceremoniously emptied everything out of her bag and started stuffing in explosives. Her stuff was all replaceable anyway; this chance wasn't. What percentage of the Weeping Angel race was held in the tunnels, Katie had no way of knowing. She only knew that it had to be a goodly amount. A dinner this size doesn't just go unnoticed.

Katie was fast. The Angels were faster. Blink and you were lunch. But as long as they knew they were being watched, they couldn't move.

Eyes closed, all three hearts racing, large lungs sucking air in and out, and constantly drawing in energy from everywhere around her, Katie finally made real use of the extra-terrestrial qualities she had. Eyes still closed to keep the Assassins frozen, Katie zipped from one to the next, a pattern quickly establishing itself. Drill hole, stick of dynamite, seal with C-4, place wire, run to the next. Repeat.

Eventually, Katie stopped. She stood next to the laser drill, panting but pleased. It had taken almost all the space in her bag to hold enough explosives to wire all the Angels up, but she had done it. The wireless detonator in her hand would set the whole thing off with the touch of a button. But first she had to drill through the cave in.

* * *

><p>"There's a laser solder under the sink in the kitchen," the Doctor called to Katrina from under TARDIS's console room floor. He had made a dozen such requests in the past half hour. Katrina had quietly done each one, doing her best to help with the repair. She had transported everything from glass dust (sneeze and the minute shard would become a permanent part of your lung) to molten metals (spill it on yourself and melt the appendage). Jaya had been blessedly quiet, spending the time just sitting and watching the door, rocking back and forth with a fretful expression.<p>

Katrina retrieved the solder and brought it to the Doctor, who took it with a nod of thanks. He had no goggles, in fact no protective gear of any kind. His face, eyebrows, and hair all looked singed, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I'm starting to get worried," Katrina confessed. "They should have been able to make it here by now."

"They'll be alright."

"You keep saying that, but you really don't have any way of knowing," Katrina protested. "There's hundreds, maybe even a thousand of those things, and we don't know where they are. Aiden and Katie could be right in the middle of them!"

"If they are," the Doctor said, not looking away from his work, "then I'd be more afraid for the Angels. Katie has enough arrogance that she's probably looking for a way to kill stone."

The Doctor attached one last wire to the giptheorium container and pulled himself out. "There! Now, I just flip this switch here and—"

_Kkzzzzztch kraw kow!_

TARDIS shuddered furiously. Katrina immediately dashed for Jaya as the Doctor started moving around the console, throwing levers and pulling out stops before realizing it was an outside force. Pulling down the view screen, all he could see was a dust cloud.

Then something began moving through it in starts and stops. A large something, or many small ones. A lone figure came out from them, walking with determined strides.

With a rush of relief, the Doctor recognized Katie's walk. She looked angrier than he had ever seen, and was wearing his coat for some reason, but she was alive. His heart dipped when he realized that Aiden wasn't with her.

Katie walked directly to the front of TARDIS, pausing to pick up a large, flat rock. The Doctor realized what she was going to do, though the why was anyone's guess.

The Doctor dashed for the door, but too late. He heard Katie shove the rock into the handle, effectively locking him in.

"Kathryn!" he yelled, yanking futilely on the door.

"These creatures…they'll never stop, right? If they get to the surface, they'll take everyone? No reasoning with them, no getting people back?"

Puzzled by the question, the Doctor answered honestly. "Weeping Angels are some of the most dangerous beings in the universe. Once someone gets sent back, they change the history they touch, become part of it. No returns."

Katie didn't answer. Katrina called to the Doctor from the view screen. "She's running! No, wait, she's back. Oh my…Doctor, she's putting explosives in the Angels!"

The Doctor joined Katrina. Jaya was hiding her face in Katrina's neck, obviously crying. The Doctor knew without asking that Katrina had already noticed her brother's absence. They watched silently as the horde of Angels came forward, moving in starts and stops, trying vainly to reach Katie, or the surface. Perhaps both.

In less than a moment, hundreds of Angels were filling the tunnels. Katie walked to TARDIS, one hand on the rock, the other holding a small remote. The Doctor felt sick, knowing what would come next. He ran for the door again, shouting.

"Kathryn, you can't do this! It won't bring him back! Stop this now!"

There was no answer. A second later, the door was flung open, shoving the Doctor back in the process. Katie slammed the door shut behind her, fists clenched. TARDIS rocked a second time from the force of explosions ripping apart the Angels.

After what felt like years, but was really minutes, the shaking stopped. The Doctor could only stare at Katie from his spot on the floor. Her back shook with silent sobs.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

"You killed them."

Katie straightened, ignoring the Doctor's words, as well as the accusation behind them. She walked past him up to Katrina. Reaching into a pocket of the coat, she pulled out a letter.

"He left this for you. I found it in the drilling laser, stuffed inside the coat. He left that behind as well. It seems he wasn't moved too far out, lived on to become a technician or something."

Katrina accepted it silently. "I'm sorry," Katie said, her voice quiet. Katrina didn't, or couldn't, answer. Turning away, she walked into TARDIS, leaving Katie and the Doctor alone.

Katie took off the coat and tossed it to the Doctor, who was now standing. "Not a single tear on it."

"Katie, that was genocide."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Why?"

"I couldn't let it happen to anyone else."

"You didn't have to kill them!"

"What would you have done then!" she yelled, angry tears on her face. "Tell me, Doctor, what grand plan would you have used to lock them down here? Sealing the entrance would have done absolutely nothing. The surface dwellers would have opened it right back up. Reason with them maybe? It would have done nothing!"

"Better than killing them all!"

"So you would have just let them run wild, taking out everything in their path?" Katie took two long strides to the Doctor, her eyes like green flames. "I've seen them Doctor. I've heard them inside my head. They would have never stopped. Never. There was no alternative, no matter what kind of high ideals you have. Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that you've never made the same choice I just did?"

The Doctor didn't answer. He looked down at her, trying to read the emotions in her eyes. Fury, determination, pain, and self-loathing shone back at him. It disturbed him how much they resembled his own.

"Death solves nothing. Those aren't the only Angels."

"I know. But at least these won't be eating anyone."

The Doctor stepped backwards. "You would have taken them all, wouldn't you? If those had been the last of their species, you would have taken them anyway."

"Yes. I would have."

The Doctor's face hardened until it looked carved from stone. "Then you need to see what you've done."

Katie didn't move as the Doctor threw open the doors. The tunnel was filled with gray rubble. Silver blood ran out from the rocks, proof of how alive they had once been.

"They're gone Kathryn," the Doctor said tightly. "Completely gone. An entire race, destroyed. Genocide." He whirled around, still talking. "And you did—" He froze, shocked by the new sight in front of him.

Katie was flat on her back, limbs shaking, jaw clenched, eyes rolled back, blood and saliva dribbling from her mouth. She looked like she was having the mother of all grand mal seizures.

The Doctor was by her side in an instant, but as soon as he touched her, he felt energy surge into him. He nearly passed out from it.

Katie started talking, but not in her voice. "My name is Lux, have you seen my mummy? My name is Ron. The angels destroyed us. We are the Galospy family." Katie's voice changed with every sentence. After several more agonizing seconds of this, a scream tore from Katie's throat.

"Stop the voices! Too many voices! Help me!"

The Doctor realized in an instant what must have happened. The potential energy the Weeping Angels had created still contained the mental waves of their victims. Katie had been able to see it. While the Angels were still alive, they had worked as a buffer, eating the energy. Now they were gone, and Katie was the only place for the scattered remains of an entire city's psyche to go. And it was killing her.

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, his mind racing for a solution. He couldn't help Katie until the excess energy had a place to go. Ripping up a floor panel on the TARDIS, he pulled out a large power cord. Its end crackled and glowed with energy from the time vortex. The Doctor set the live end against Katie's neck, praying it would work in syphoning the energy out of her.

The Doctor placed his hands on Katie's temples. He still felt a shock, but not as bad as before. He closed his eyes and was in her mind in an instant. Utter confusion reigned.

Katie's mind had been completely empty earlier. Now the halls were filled with people; clamoring, shouting, screaming, crying people. It hurt his head, even as an echo. It must be killing Katie, whose mind was accustomed to only one voice.

"Kathryn!" he called, his voice only being drowned out by the thousands already calling. He used what he remembered from earlier to cut through memories, run through thoughts, and dash over ideas, looking for the one place Katie might be.

As he ran, he did his best to ignore her memories, trying to give her some semblance of privacy. But one kept returning, as though it haunted her constantly. He never saw all of it; no, those doors were well locked. However, feelings and noises filtered out, always the same. Sensations of agony, loss, regret, sickening knowledge, and self-loathing. The sounds were few, but always the same; shots being fired, muffled words, an anguished scream of torment.

As the Doctor crisscrossed Katie's memories, he came closer and closer to the present day. He thought Katie would be in a recent one, one of her room on TARDIS or with her plants. Instead, he found her curled under the covers on a bed in a messy room on Earth, trying to block out the sounds. She looked the same as she had before, making her almost seem to be a stranger.

"Kathryn!"

She raised her head a fraction to look at him, terror in her eyes. Then she curled up even tighter. "Go away! Your voice is the worst. It holds too much! Too many lives in your head. Go away!"

"Kathryn, you have to let me help you."

"Stop the voices. Too many voices, too many people, too many memories. Stop them, stop them!" Katie started to sob. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me, please! I had to do it. I had no choice. I'm sorry I missed…I'm sorry!"

The Doctor said nothing. He had greater crimes to his name, but Katie couldn't find forgiveness for this act. Not from him. He wasn't the one wronged.

"But he never said it. He never said it!"

The crossing memories were getting worse, the Doctor decided. The Doctor opened his thoughts fully to that of the voices. They surged into his mind, though not all of them did. A few dozen hid in the corners of Katie's mind, refusing to let go. There was nothing he could do about it now. He had to pull out, or risk Katie's sanity. She was right; his mind contained too much for her to handle with this kind of intimacy.

The Doctor opened his eyes and took his hands away from Katie's temples. She lay still for a moment then took a deep, gasping breath, nearly choking in the process.

"It's alright Kathryn, just breath. Long, deep breaths."

Katie jerked her head up, staring wildly at him. She rolled herself onto all fours and scrambled up and away, putting the console between them.

"Don't touch me. I saw them, and you can't have them back." Katie swayed, reminding the Doctor of the first time they had met.

"Kathryn, I had to take the people," he said, misunderstanding.

"No, not that! I saw them. I saw there. And I won't give them back, whatever you may say. I won't, I won't!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You!" she said, clinging to the console for support. "Your mind, your memories. I saw them Doctor."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

The Doctor was silent, then he asked in a low voice, "What did you see?"

Katie shook her head, looking lost. "I saw…pictures. A lot of pictures. Pictures scattered about, like someone threw all the pictures out of an album. No, like a bunch of movie clips all jammed together. There is…there was a…a planet. A very red planet with silver edges. There were glass cities and tall proud, brilliant people. Circles were everywhere, and there was a gorgeous language being spoken."

Katie smiled, looking breathless as she continued. "Then the cities faded into the distance. It was the same planet, and there were fields and silver trees and two suns and mountains! It was…" Katie blinked, starting to understand what she had seen. She looked at the Doctor, mixing emotions crossing her face.

"That was Gallifrey, wasn't it?" She stepped a little closer to the Doctor, the console still in between them. "That was your home, wasn't it? The one that you lost."

"Yeah."

Katie looked about say something, then decided against it.

"What else did you see?" the Doctor asked, his tone flat. Katie seemed almost afraid to speak, but continued, looking down.

"The same planet. The same places, but it was covered in…in bodies. Bodies that were both alive and not. There were these…trashcan looking things. Upside down trashcans covered in bumps, with a plunger and egg beater attached to them like arms. They were fighting with the people on the planet. The battle was never ending, and the warfare was…indescribable. There are no words for it."

"The Time War."

Katie glanced up at the Doctor then back down again. To the Doctor, she seemed to resemble a very frightened child talking to an angry parent. "It must have been," she agreed. "I couldn't have pictured it before, and now I can't see how it would be anything else."

She fell silent again. "You saw more," the Doctor said, tone still flat.

"I did." Katie swallowed hard, knowing she had to continue. "I saw the planet from up above. High, high above. I could see the battle raging on the surface. I saw it spreading to more and more planets, like…like sparks leaping across a canyon to keep a fire going. I felt reflections of pain, horror, loss, responsibility, and anger. Such anger. Anger at so many things."

Katie blinked, a single tear creeping down one cheek. "And then everything stopped. The planets disappeared, and all the emotions became one all-consuming feeling of regret."

The Doctor was silent, his face stiff. Katie wiped under her eyes and took a deep breath, still not making eye contact with the Doctor. The look in the Doctor's eyes scared her. She hadn't wanted to remind him of those memories. He felt such pain at them, such regret. She knew he felt them, even now. It was almost as though she could feel what he was feeling.

"Did you only see the Time War?"

Katie bit her lip, debating her answer, deciding to go with the honest one. "Yes. I did. Random things, people mostly, with feelings attached. A man who felt weird, like he shouldn't exist. He had a name attached to him, something to do with a burning forest that wasn't really burning. Another man, one who was very close to your heart, but he's dead now. Lots of women. Amazing how many women were in your memories. A few really stood out. I think I felt Ace. Very explosive child."

A slight smile touched the Doctor's lips. Katie felt a little better and continued. "There were a few more recent girls. Ah, there was a black girl. Smart, kind of quiet. It felt like you didn't really see her though, but she had a sense of…I think it was loyalty about her. Determination and absolute loyalty. Before her there was a redhead. She seemed more live-wire-ish, like you wouldn't want to cross her. A bit thick and noisy, but resilient."

The Doctor's smile had grown past the ghost stage. Obviously these were much nicer memories. "That's almost all of it, at least of the clear stuff that makes any sense. The rest of it is a jumble. There was one other girl though, really recent. She had a lot of emotions tied to her. I couldn't begin to sort them all out. A blond girl, with a lot of pink and blue. She felt very naïve, and very vulnerable, but also very…I don't know. Very human."

The Doctor's eyes got distant again, but this time from grief. Katie shrank backwards, certain she'd crossed the line again. The Doctor's eyes focused again, noticing her position. His brow furrowed. Worry mingled with curiosity in his voice. "Kathryn?"

"I didn't mean to remind you. I know that these things have to hurt."

"When you get to be my age, everything hurts."

"Yeah, but I said I'd stay out of it."

The Doctor studied her for a few moments. "And now that you have asked, you're worried I'm going to leave you behind, particularly after what you just did."

"Yeah," Katie said quietly. She looked up at him. "Are you going to?"

The Doctor looked astonished, and more than a little hurt. "After everything…after all these months, you still have to ask?"

"Yes, I do," Katie answered instantly.

"Why?"

"Because I still don't know how you can accept me."

The Doctor couldn't find an answer for this.

"I didn't enjoy it. What I did. I didn't want to."

The Doctor swallowed. "I know."

"I felt like I had to. Like I had no choice, and no one else would do it, so it had to be me. I knew that if I didn't, I would be responsible for even worse horrors than what I did. I couldn't…I couldn't put that on anyone else."

The Doctor smiled lightly. "And that's why you stay."

Katie looked at him, startled. The Doctor was already grinning and moving around the console. "So where should we take our two newest passengers first?"

"Someplace where we can live in peace."

Katie and the Doctor turned to the doorway leading into TARDIS. Katrina was standing there holding Jaya. Katrina's face was pale, but she held herself steady. "I want you to take us somewhere were we will be safe. We have relatives in the mining colony on Praxill Three. Take us there."

* * *

><p>Katie and the Doctor set TARDIS down as gently as they could, very aware of the silent Katrina. Jaya watched everything with wide eyes.<p>

"We're here," the Doctor said. "About a block down from the address specified. Do you want an escort?"

"No. I can take it from here." Katrina looked steadily at the Doctor. "Doctor, I want to thank you for caring for Jaya and I, and for getting us here safely."

"Anytime."

Katrina nodded, then turned for the door.

"Katrina," Katie called, taking an involuntary step forward. Katrina stopped but didn't turn around.

"Yes?"

"Katrina I…I'm sorry for what happened. I didn't…I didn't mean to—"

"Don't try Katie," Katrina said, turning around to face her. "The letter my brother left for me told me about what happened. He lived a happy life, at least. It turns out he was the man we all regarded as a grandfather. These people are his real grandchildren. He left instructions to care for us. Aiden arranged everything."

Katrina took a breath before continuing. "He told me to forgive you. He knew that you never meant to let go, that it was the Angels influencing you. But I…I don't think I can."

Katie breathed in deeply, and nodded. "I wouldn't expect you to."

Katrina seemed to have more to say, but instead she pursed her lips and turned around. As she closed the door behind her, Katie heard little Jaya's voice in her head.

_I forgive you._

Katie sank to the floor, sobbing. The Doctor wordlessly walked over to her and crouched next to her, holding her as she leaned into him and cried.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, Katie was finishing a glass of cold, dark tea. She had washed her face, and gotten into different clothes, also refilling her bag at the same time. Anyone seeing her wouldn't have had any clue as to her recent meltdown.<p>

She stepped into the console room, where the Doctor was down under the floor grates again, repairing the cord he had ripped out earlier.

"Almost done?"

"Just finished," he said, climbing out. He gave her a look. "You know, you're going to have to start fixing her yourself, if you insist on damaging her this way."

"Well, if I still had the manual, it would be easy. But someone threw it into a star."

He smiled lightly and turned a few dials on the console. "I think it's time you learned about another lever."

"Is it the one that has the words "Never Use" printed under it?"

"No. It's the one next to it," he said, pointing. Katie walked over to look.

"What's it do?"

"Gives TARDIS almost complete control over where we go. We just have to help hold her on her course."

Katie smiled broadly. "Then let's do it."

The Doctor hesitated. "You sure you're all right?"

Katie's smile faded a little. "Yeah. I'm all right."

Knowing full well what she meant by that, the Doctor grabbed the lever and yanked it sideways. TARDIS started to shake as she took off, Katie and the Doctor working in tandem to hold her steady.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p>

So, now Katie has the Doctor's memories, and she's just committed genocide. Isn't that a grand combination to have in a girl like her?

My next episode is titled, "Rifts are Funny Things." I wonder how many of you can guess what happens next?


End file.
